


and every time anybody speaks your name

by tousled



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Astrid Hofferson-centric, Astrid-centric, Aurvandil's Fire, Friendship, Gen, POST-HTTYD3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-22
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2020-01-23 20:40:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18557446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tousled/pseuds/tousled
Summary: Half way through the mead and several ridiculous stories about the gang or Eret’s trapper crew the night sky lights up. Astrid drops the mead, and it spills out into the water of the hot spring.“Astrid?” Eret asks, and if she dared to look away she’d see confusion and worry dripping from his expression. He holds a hand out like he wants to steady her, to comfort her. She might combust if he even brushes a finger against her shoulder.“Aurvandil's Fire,” she breathes. And suddenly the gang’s actions make sense.“Well, yes,” Eret says. He blinks, putting his hand back down. He looks adorably confused, but supportive and she feels so fond.





	and every time anybody speaks your name

**Author's Note:**

> uncle finn rights!

No one’s bothered Astrid all day and she’s too relieved to be suspicious. Snotlout has been particularly bothersome the past week, dropping chores off into Astrid’s lap and ridiculous over the top flirting like he hasn’t in years. He steers clear today, citing fishing duties and the like. Fishlegs engaged her attention about some new herb, and they had journeyed into the forest to look for it for Gothi to test, but had taken over the search this morning. The twins haven’t been seen by anyone, but days before they were bugging Astrid about making snow dragons, and even Hiccup has been running around with chief duties. 

 

It’s quiet, and Astrid takes the free moments to hang out with Eret and relax. They help wall a new building, and do some working repairs on the new hall, making sure it’s snow proof. It’s been getting colder and colder as winter laps at their door, ground slushy with rainfall. Soon, it will snow and Astrid feels herself ache with what that means. Soon, it will be easy to pretend 

 

“Sauna?” Eret asks, and Astrid shrugs. After all the hard work they definitely deserve a soak. 

“Hot springs,” she offers, and at Eret’s blank stare she winks. Only a few of them know about it, and eventually they’ll share with the whole village but for now, it’ll be the gang’s little secret. Probably when Snotlout blabs about it.

 

They grab some mead, new stock that probably needs to ferment a little longer, and Astrid leads the way. It’s complicated, and hard to follow and at one point Astrid has to climb up and grab the mead off Eret so he can use both hands to climb up but the springs are worth it. With dragons, this would have been easy, but without it’s some crazy path no one but the twins would have found. Upon reaching it Eret lets out a low whistle, and Astrid knows the feeling. 

 

Half way through the mead and several ridiculous stories about the gang or Eret’s trapper crew the night sky lights up. Astrid drops the mead, and it spills out into the water of the hot spring. 

 

“Astrid?” Eret asks, and if she dared to look away she’d see confusion and worry dripping from his expression. He holds a hand out like he wants to steady her, to comfort her. She might combust if he even brushes a finger against her shoulder. 

“Aurvandil's Fire,” she breathes. And suddenly the gang’s actions make sense. 

“Well, yes,” Eret says. He blinks, putting his hand back down. He looks adorably confused, but supportive and she feels so  _ fond.  _

 

And, Astrid remembers this morning at breakfast when Tuff had squeezed between Eret and Snotlout to shove Eret into Astrid’s shoulder. When Ruff had announced someone just  _ needed  _ to work on the new great hall, after all, it needed to be prepared and for winter the village needs somewhere to stay warm. They’d excused themselves, tucking Eret and Astrid close and she’d fallen into their carefully manipulated plan. She loves  _ all  _ of them. She does want to talk about Uncle Finn so much. 

 

“On the old Berk,” Astrid says, looking back up at the sky and watching Aurvandil’s Fire streak across the night sky, “every ten years when we saw Aurvandil’s Fire we would be visited by a dragon called the Flightmare. It would wreak havoc on the village, and when I was four my uncle attempted to stop it once and for all.” 

“Oh?” Eret encourages, and Astrid glances back at him. He is staring up to the sky also, watching the fire crackle and burn. Astrid wonders what he sees when he looks up at it. 

“He froze, the dragon breathes a paralysing mist that freezes you long enough to become an easy target. But, we didn’t know that, not until later, of course. Everyone thought he was so terrified of the dragon he just froze.” Astrid  _ aches.  _ Even though this story ends with honour, she feels the pain in her bones, right to the tips of her fingers and toes. “Everyone made fun of him, he used to be called Fearless Finn Hofferson - because he was! Fearless and brave - and after the Flightmare he was Frozen Finn Hofferson and my family honour was down the drain.” 

 

Astrid’s fingers twitch, and focuses on the one point she’s staring up at. She remembers last time like it was yesterday, of Hiccup trying to tell her she should chase the Flightmare down and get revenge. Fishlegs attempts at researching the dragon until he’s solved the whole lot. Of holding her axe over her shoulder and shouting. 

 

“Here I am, ungodly beast! Fearless Finn Hofferson! I've been waiting ten years for this moment. Come and get me, if you dare!” 

“He sounds fearless to me,” Eret offers. He’s a sweetheart, really, and Astrid is momentarily distracted by memories of sitting close and missing Stormfly together. She drops her head on his shoulder like she’s done countless nights before, angling herself to watch Aurvandil’s Fire. 

“He was.” She says. “Ten years after that incident I went after the Flightmare to get my family’s honour back. We discovered the mist was paralysing after I too was frozen. Hiccup saw the Flightmare breathe the mist at me, so he knew it wasn’t fear.”

 

“You trained the dragon then?” He prompts, and Astrid snorts. She had said the same thing to Hiccup at the time, and he had tried to say he doesn’t just think about training dragons to her with a straight face.

“No, it turns out it was just following some bioluminescent algae and Berk was in the way. It was protecting food, and was too dangerous to approach, so we diverted the stream away from Berk.” She explains, getting lost in the words. It feels methodical and she sees Uncle Finn in every flicker of Aurvandil’s Fire. “We got to explain to the village that Uncle Finn wasn’t a coward, that Hoffersons have never been cowards.” 

“It sounds,” Eret starts, carefully like he’s not quite sure he’s saying the right thing, “that your Uncle meant a lot to you.” 

 

“Uncle Finn,” Astrid’s voice breaks, but thankfully Eret doesn’t bring attention to it, “meant the  _ world _ to me.” 

 

Sometimes, Astrid replays that last conversation over and over until it barely feels real. She feels Uncle Finn’s hand on her cheek and remembers his kind eyes and has to ask Gobber to repeat the words just in case she’s gotten them all mixed up.  _ This isn’t your fight _ , she thinks, and she holds her childhood axe, the one she had made with Uncle Finn in the forge, running her fingers over the grooves and bumps,  _ yet. _

 

“I just hope he’s proud of me,” she whispers, just loud enough to be heard. 

“I didn’t know your Uncle Finn, but Astrid,” Eret says, “but how could he not?” 

 

Astrid sobs. 

 

She doesn’t mean to, but Eret’s simple earnestness is too much. He never got to know Uncle Finn, unfortunately, but his faith in who Astrid is is overwhelming. That Astrid is enough, as who she is, that Uncle Finn  _ will  _ be proud, no matter what. She shakes in his arms, and hopes and prays he’s right. Hopes that Uncle Finn is bragging about her in the hall of Valhalla, waiting for the day when Astrid gets to stand in front of him, grown and changed, and to see his face again. 

 

“Hey, is this a free for all?” Tuff asks, voice loud and obnoxious, and a surprise enough that Astrid jumps. She looks up over Eret’s shoulder to see him slipping off his tunic already as behind him Snotlout struggles up over final ridge. 

“What are you guys doing?” Astrid’s voice sounds like she’s been crying, and she hates it, but Tuff doesn’t say anything.

“You’re not the only ones that did lots of work today, share the springs!” Snotlout calls. 

 

For a moment she questions them, looking over Eret’s shoulder, wondering their motives. All that effort to get her with Eret’s shoulder and his listening ear and they come and interrupt. But, a moment later Tuff slips into the water next to Astrid and gives her lopsided smile and she pulls from Eret’s arm to gather him up in a hug. Distraction after distraction, friendly face after friendly face. 

 

“You’re always welcome.” Astrid says, rubbing a hand down Tuff’s shoulder, glancing up at Snotlout with a smile. She has the best, most obnoxious, annoying friends in the world and she wouldn’t trade a single one of them for anything. 

“You say that, but you didn’t like when Ruff and I came over the other day.” Tuff mumbles, face pressed into Astrid’s neck and she lets him go so he can see her expression of annoyance to really drive the point in. 

“You say ‘come over’ like you were around for tea,” she frowns, “you broke my lock and put fish guts in my bed.” 

 

Snotlout snorts. A moment later he’s joining them in the spring with a large splash. It’s a big enough wave to swamp them, water splashing over the edge. Astrid splutters, splashing back at Snotlout when he surfaces. It descends quickly into a splash fight. A badly timed splash gets Tuff's hair wet and then it's all out  _war._ It goes on until Astrid's breathless, laying up against the edge of the spring and looking up over the of light dancing and burning up in the sky. It makes her feel fond, it makes her feel sad, and angry. She feels peaceful, Tuff's head on her shoulder and Snotlout an arm's length away, Eret by her side. 

 

Later, Ruffnut and Hiccup will join them, with perhaps more swearing than really necessary, and Astrid will hand her the mead to soothe the aches. The both of them will say nothing about the gang's plan, but Hiccup will give her a conspiratorial grin (and later still, he'll confess it was the twin's idea the whole time). All of them will sit, peaceful and quiet, watching Aurvandil's Fire, and remembering happy memories. 

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. Song is The Last Day on Earth by Kate Miller-Heidke   
> 2\. Fright of Passage is such a good episode it's totally worth rewatching.   
> 3\. Astrid loves her Uncle Finn and I have so many headcanons please talk to me about them.


End file.
